Cultural Identity

“Detroit is big enough to matter in the world and small enough for you to matter in it.” ― Jeanette Pierce

Race

A City Divided

During our time in Detroit, we experienced the underlying issues of race in everything we did. It was prevalent in everything that we did because the city is facing drastic segregation. 82.7% of Detroit's population is African American, but in the wealthiest parts of the city, we saw a disproportionate amount of caucasian people.

Arts Downtown & Midtown

Detroit has a clear division between its midtown & downtown area and the residential areas. In the downtown and midtown areas, large murals (contracted by the city) and decorative alleyways are a large focus of the art scene. The city creates small parks and popup exhibits as well as an attempt to bring more interactive art "to the people."

Most of this art can be found by simply walking around the downtown and midtown areas, or by taking the QLine--Detroit's downtown shuttle system.

Arts in the Residential Neighborhoods

The art that we saw outside of the downtown area best represented the city of Detroit and the people who are native to the area.

Much of the art was for Detroiters by Detroiters. Rather than being centered around monetary value and an exclusive society, the street art added truth to the experience and history of the city.

We were able to visit the Heidelberg Project, which was created to empower a neglected neighborhood by Tyree Guyton, a native to Detroit.

The art downtown is created through murals--which require specific supplies as well as technology to be able to paint on the sides of tall buildings--and through string lights and banners and other supplies that tend to have an attached price-tag. In contrast, much of the art in the residential neighborhoods is made through smaller murals on the sides of smaller buildings and recycled pieces of "junk," such as the the objects utilized by Tyree Guyton in his Heidelberg Project. Additionally, many of the murals and art pieces found in downtown and midtown Detroit were commissioned by the city, while artists in residential neighborhoods created their work for free, sometimes even in secret. Despite the prevalent juxtaposition of these two environments within a single city, no matter where an individual may find themselves within Detroit, art is near.

Music - The Motown Museum

Detroit is widely known for being the home of the Motown record label, the first label with primarily black artists. Cultural identity and music are intertwined, as music, same as the rest of the arts, are an extremely important part of self-expression. Motown was the first time black artists such as Marvin Gaye and the Temptations were celebrated for who they were - creating a unique environment for musicians to grow into superstars - like Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, and Diana Ross. Motown Records brought black artists into the light around the country, integrating culture in an unprecedented way - in a way that would help shake the nation's crippling fear of racial integration in the 1960's and 1970's.

Vivian Le | Javon Stovall | Zoe Swinton

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